i know nothing with any certainty: while you were out...

so sorry it's taken me forever to post. i spent the better part of last weekend ill (and asleep) and not feeling up to doing much of anything. when, of course, i had tons to do.

i am feeling much better now, though, and while my homework never quite goes away... i'm feeling a little less stressed than i was a couple of weeks ago.

i never quite finished my SF tour series, so here's the last bit (saturday) of mpak's visit [see photos i posted in the album called "fun with mpak"]:

we awoke at 8 am, dressed and headed back into the city to have breakfast on our way to napa. my parents really wanted to buy fresh produce, so i took them to the alemany farmers' market, which is just a stone's throw away from my house. my parents, especially my dad, had a great time, buying all sorts of fruits and vegetables at really good prices.

my dad was like a kid in a candy store, but he didn't shop around first. he bought the first persimmons he saw, which, of course, weren't the cheapest. as he proceeded along to the next stall and then the next, he realized that they could have been bought for a lower price. undeterred from the missed bargains, he ate three persimmons straight away, in rapid succession (he has a history of eating copious quantities of fresh fruit or vegetables in one sitting--he once went to the ER after eating too much). this ultimately led to really bad indigestion later on in the day.

after we had our fun at the farmers' market (i bought kettle corn, two kinds of grapes and my favorite, pinklady apples (for 80 cents a pound!!!)), we brought my purchases back to the flat and headed back out to have breakfast in nearby noe valley at pomelo, which is just a block away from curves. i took my parents into curves so they could see where i work, and of course they took the obligatory photos of me inside.

we finally hit the road to napa after our already full morning. since i'd been there twice before (and driven there once), i drove us through the city on 101 and up towards the golden gate bridge to napa. we were going to stop to take photos, but the fog was so thick that you could hardly see the bridge at all, even while we were driving across it. it was very anti-climactic to say the least, and a shame, since it's one of my favorite american landmarks and such a magnificent structure. not seeing it, however, guaranteed that they would have to visit again.

we made it into napa sometime between 1 and 2 pm, and stopped at a mcdonald's for a pit stop and to have karen take over driving. my dad started having discomfort (from the persimmons) around this time, and it persisted throughout the rest of the day. we all felt bad for him, but he insisted that he didn't need any medicine or to go to the hospital. i guess it's true what they say: doctors make the worst patients!

the weather was beautiful that day; it had been foggy/overcast in the city when we left and napa was perfect. it was neither too hot nor too cold. perfect for a winery tour at robert mondavi, which was our first stop. i decided to take them there for the tour because it is very informative. you learn about the grapes (which we were allowed to pick and eat--so sweet and so good), the processing of the grapes, and the making of the wine. it's all followed by a wine tasting at the end. mpak was not impressed by the way the wines tasted, so i took them to v. sattui instead because i knew they liked their wines better.

i was not mistaken. i got them to sample the sweet wines (gamay rouge, off-dry johannesberg riesling, muscat...) and they loved them all! so much so that we ended up buying a whole case. afterward, we stayed for a picnic dinner (of which my poor dad did not partake). it was quite a lovely spread.

since it was getting late (and we were supposed to meet up with relatives of my dad's), we decided to head out, but of course, being the family of shoppers that we are, we stopped at the napa premium outlets. we got there too late, however, because they were about to close. that didn't faze us though. we stopped at another set of outlets, where we got pretty lucky with some good finds. when we had our fill of shopping, we finally set out back toward the city. we made it back to my flat at around 10 pm, where mpak dropped me (and my wine and purchases) off. they had an early flight the next day, so we said goodbye and left (after i gave my dad some pepto bismol chewables).

needless to say, mpak and i had a really good visit, as short as it was. i think they saw a fair amount in the time they were here, but i know they'll be back because there is still so much to be seen.

***

in other news, my bosses are selling both of their curves. actually, the one they own on clement street has already been sold, and the one i work at is in escrow. though i'm sad to see them go (michelle, my boss, has lost much interest in the clubs because her mother's health is rapidly declining), it's definitely for the best.

apparently two 30 year-old guys are buying the one i work at (supposedly they're just business partners)... so we'll see where it goes. we are all keeping our jobs, but somehow i think this is a sign and definitely impetus for me to find another job. i'll let you know how it goes.

that said, i hope everyone is doing well... can you believe it's already november and thanksgiving is just a few short weeks away? where did the year go?? i blinked and it was off in a flash!

here's hoping your weekend is restful--
+spo+